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Earning that Smile (Morning routines, Love)

There are some school days where I need to rush her out of bed because I goofed in letting her sleep too long. Those days are usually a quick kiss and then increasingly urgent prompts to get moving. But I try to make days like those rare.

Instead, I prefer mornings like this morning.

I see it’s time to get her up in order for her to have plenty of time to casually get ready for school. I crawl next to her, stroke her forehead.

My first goal of our day together is always to start hers with a smile

She usually will turn this way or that and cuddle up closer with her blanket or pull the sheets over her a bit more.

A few more kisses.

When she was really little, I’d always say, “Good morning. Welcome to another day of your big adventure (Life). Guess what Daddy’s going to do today? Going to love you. Going to have fun today. Going to learn new things.”

That usually brought a smile. Now, I tend to just keep it simpler.

Me – “Me – “Good morning. I love you. It’s time to get up, honey.”

Actually, today, I did work a little extra for that little smile.

A song from a friend of mine who passed away several years popped into my head, so I sang it to her for the first time…

“Smile and be happy,

you create your universe.

Smile and you’ll discover,

your world looks a lot like your thoughts.

You’re creating it all.

So why not create it… with a smile.”

The song did the trick this morning. A little smile appeared on her face.

Her – “One more minute.”

That’s my cue to give her a couple minutes of morning snuggles.

Then, she’s good to go.

I put on some inspirational song like Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling,’ head off to make sure her breakfast and lunch are all set for the day, and she starts her shower or just gets dressed. On good days, I don’t need to repeat myself five times for her to get her shoes on or to comb her hair.

Welcome. Like countless parents, helping my child experience the best start to life that I can muster is my passion. Here I track meaningful, humorous and thought-provoking moments on the journey with my daughter.